Frightened
by TotalCSIfan
Summary: Jackie gets some horrifying news from her doctor that sends her into a state of shock and panic that she has never experienced before. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Jackie was sitting on the floor playing with the kids when the phone rang. She smiled at her three little ones and then went to the kitchen to get the phone.

"Hello." Jackie said.

"Hello, is Mrs. Stokes available please?" The caller said.

"This is she." Jackie replied.

"Mrs. Stokes this is Dr. Chen from Desert Palm Hospital, I got the results of your mammogram back, and I'm afraid there is an abnormality, it could be a number of harmless things so there is no reason to panic but to be sure I need you to schedule a needle biopsy, I have an opening tomorrow at 9 in the morning will that work?"

Jackie was numb "um, yeah, sure." She stammered.

"Ok, I will see you tomorrow morning, have a good rest of your day." The doctor said in a friendly voice.

After he'd hung up Jackie stared at the phone in a stunned silence. Normally women as young as her did not get mammograms but because cancer ran in her family and because she has three kids that needs their mother Jackie got one every year but she never dreamed there would be a problem.

She walked back into the living room, repeating in her head what the doctor had relayed. He'd said not to panic but she couldn't help but do so. She looked at her three happy kids playing with one another and tears welled in her eyes.

Later that evening she'd already put the kids to bed when Nick finally got home from work after a very long day at the lab. She was over at the sink doing dishes when he walked in and put his arms around her.

"Hi." He whispered in his sweet southern drawl as he squeezed her tighter.

"Stop." She said as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp, she was in no mood for romance.

He grinned at kept at it.

"Seriously Nick, not right now."

"Why not?" He said as his grin got bigger.

"LOOK, I SAID CUT IT OUT, NOW MOVE." She exploded as she stormed past him with tears in her eyes.

She went into the living room and collapsed on the couch as the tears began to stream down her face. Nick followed her, beyond shocked by her outburst.

"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" He asked as he gently put his arm around her, not in a romantic way but just in a loving and supportive way.

"Nothing." She mumbled.

"Come on Jackie, tell me, whatever it is, it'll be alright." He said sweetly.

"The doctor called today, there was something abnormal on my mammogram." She managed before she buried her head in his shirt.

"shhhh." He said comfortingly.

"What exactly did he say?" He asked.

"He said that I should have a needle biopsy, but not to panic yet."

"Ok, well sweetie, if he said not to panic, let's take it easy, let's see what the biopsy reveals first before we think the worst ok? When's your appointment?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Ok, I'll go with you, it's going to be ok." He said as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"Thank you." She said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

The next morning Nick sat in the little doctor's office room while Jackie went into the other room to have the procedure. When she came back she put her clothes back on and waited with Nick for the doctor.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Yeah." She responded.

"Did it hurt?" He asked.

"A little, not much, I was numb so I was ok."

"Oh, I didn't know they numb you to do that."

"No, I didn't mean that kind of numb, I meant I was in a daze numb." She took a seat next to him and he comfortingly put his arm around her.

The doctor came back in.

"Well, do I have cancer?" Jackie blurted out.

"I'm sorry but we won't know the results for 72 hours." He said.

"72 hours? You tell me I might have cancer and then you make me wait that long? I can't do that, you don't understand, I have three very young kids, they need me, I need to know what is going on, I will drive myself crazy." She exploded.

"Honey shhh." Nick said as he grabbed her arm.

She pulled away from him and gave the doctor one last glare before she stormed out of the room.

Nick thanked the doctor before following her out of the room.

TBC….


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were torture. Jackie tried to go on like normal, she went to work and spent time with her kids. She'd do ok when she was around others or her kids but as soon as she was alone she'd lose it.

She was her normal happy self at work, around her family, or her kids but when she and Nick were alone with one another she'd take out her anger, fear, and frustration on him.

She didn't want to, and after she'd blow up at him she would immediately feel horrible about it but she had to vent to someone and since she was trying to maintain normalcy around everyone else Nick was the only one to vent to.

Nick had been fantastic, a rock of support and love. He'd just let her scream at him like a crazy person and then when she'd stop and burst into tears he'd wrap his arms around her lovingly, despite just having her wrath directed right at him.

"I'm sorry Nicky, I'm so sorry." She said in a sobbing voice after one of her many outbursts.

During this particular outburst she'd called him everything from a jackass to a terrible husband because she spilled her coffee, as if it was Nick's fault even though he'd been across the room at the time.

"Shhh it's alright, it's alright, we are going to get through this, everything will be just fine." He said as he helped her sit down in a chair and then cleaned up the spilled coffee.

The next day the phone rang.

"It's the hospital." She whispered to him as she grabbed the phone.

Nick grabbed her free hand.

Jackie talked on the phone for a few minutes and immediately after she'd hung up the phone she staggered backwards, Nick had to literally catch her or she'd have fallen over.

He helped her into a kitchen chair.

"What'd he say?" Nick asked quietly, even though he had a pretty good idea what he'd said based on her reaction.

"He said that he got the results back and that he wants me to come see him at the hospital." She whispered, barely able to say it.

"Honey if that's all he said why are you so scared?"

"Because Nicky, if it was good news he probably would have told me over the phone right?"

"I don't know." Nick said but he feared that she was right.

They got in the car and took the kids to her mother's house and then went to the hospital.

TBC….Don't forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

As Nick and Jackie sat in a back exam room waiting for the doctor to enter Nick held her hand tightly. She was shaking like a leaf. Her mind raced about her future but more importantly the future of her children. If she died she knew Nick would do a great job raising the kids but to have to raise three small kids alone would be a lot for Nick to handle, it would be for anyone.

As the doctor walked in Jackie started to cry, she braced herself for what he was going to tell her.

Nick looked at her and just squeezed her hand tighter.

"How are you doing today Mrs. Stokes?" The doctor asked.

"I've had better days." Jackie replied.

"Well, let me help make your day fantastic. The results of your biopsy showed zero signs of cancer, the abnormality was nothing more than a lump of fatty tissue."

Grateful tears started streaming down Jackie's face.

Jackie glanced over at Nick and saw a relived smile spread across his face as tears trickled from his eyes as well.

Nick wrapped her in a hug and as they clung to each other their tears mixed with one another's.

The doctor smiled as he watched this loving scene unfold.

When Jackie finally turned her attention back to the doctor he smiled at her.

"Do you have any questions for me?" He asked the couple.

"Yes, is the fatty tissue something I should be worried about later down the line, can it turn into cancer or something serious?"

"No, it's harmless, although in rare occurrences in some women fatty tissues can start to cause some pain, but if that happens there is a very simple and easy procedure to remove it. Do you have any other questions?"

"Yes, why couldn't you tell me the good news over the phone, I was petrified."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but hospital policy says that biopsy results may not be shared over the phone. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, not right now, my mind is racing." Jackie admitted.

"I understand." The doctor said with a smile. "One more thing." He told her.

"What's that?"

"When women get a scare like this, even if the results are good news they sometimes need some counseling, we have great counselors here at the hospital and if you feel you need to talk to someone about this I will happily refer you to one."

"Thank you, but I'm fine." Jackie said with a smile as she glanced at Nick.

The doctor smiled. "It sounds like you had all the support you needed." He said as he nodded at Nick.

"I did." Jackie said with a smile.

"I'll leave you two alone for a couple minutes and then I'll come back and see if you have anymore questions for me."

He smiled and then left the room.

Jackie then turned her attention to Nick.

"The doctor was right, I did have all the support I needed and it was all because of you. Thank you for being so kind, loving, caring, understanding, sweet and supportive. Thank you for everything." She said as she looked deep into his eyes.

He smiled and then leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. He didn't say anything, he didn't need too, that sweet kiss said everything that needed to be said.

She just smiled at him again.

"What do you say you and I go out to dinner to celebrate?" He asked.

"Thanks hon, but I just want to go get the kids and go home. The past few days it's been very hard for me to even look at the kids, every time I read Jazz a story, pushed Houston's toy cars around the living room with him, or sang Johnna to sleep I couldn't help but think I might not have very many more chances to do this, I could barely get through it without crying. I just want to go home and be able to spend time with them again and not have to worry about anything, I just want to go home and be their mommy."

"Ok, I understand." He said.

The doctor came back in but since Nick nor Jackie had any questions for him the couple was left.

They went and got the kids and went home.

Jackie spent the entire night with Nick and the kids, she even let the kids stay up late. She had always enjoyed spending time with them but now she loved it even more, she had a bigger appreciation for it because she now knew just how precious that quality with her family really was and she vowed to never again take it for granted.

**The End!**

*I am looking for story ideas that I can create a very long multi chapter story from, if anyone has any ideas for this please send me a personal message! Thank you for reading this story, I hope you liked it!


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